YouSaid · the spoken record

Akram

lines on the record: 1,374
first: 2002-06-13
most recent: 2023-12-20
sittings or episodes: 175
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That danger is present, but it must be viewed in perspective. Terrorist organizations and non- State actors could feasibly acquire chemical and biological weapon capabilities. The acquisition and use of nuclear weapons by non-State actors is much more difficult and much less likely. I think the example of Osama bin Laden underlines not only that danger but also the fact that WMD are difficult for terrorist organizations to acquire. That is especially true with respect to nuclear weapons. The existing treaty regimes can address most of the threats that have been raised in the context of the proliferation of WMD. Pakistan is a nuclear-weapon State. We have established effective command and control and physical security of our nuclear assets, sites and materials. We are improving our export controls.”
2004-04-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4950 (2004) · source
“Pakistan endorses the statement that will be made later by Malaysia on behalf of the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement. There is a universal desire to prevent the horrors that would result from the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Historically, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has occurred when States have sought to acquire those weapons to address perceived threats to their national security. But non-State actors have often, not only in the recent past, been the instruments of proliferation by States seeking WMD. Recently, Pakistan detected and dismantled such a proliferation network involving our nationals and those of a number of other countries. The fear that non-State actors themselves may acquire and use weapons of mass destruction is a recent phenomenon.”
2004-04-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4950 (2004) · source
“We supported the draft resolution (S/2004/3l3) presented by the United Kingdom and the United States on the situation in Cyprus since it expresses support for the Secretary- General's plan for a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus. We regret that the Security Council was not able to adopt a unanimous position on the draft resolution. Perhaps if there had been more time and more consultations a consensus result would have been possible. We hope nevertheless that the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots will read the right message from the international community and take the historic decision which they are called upon to take next Saturday in their own best interests and in the interests of their country and their region.”
2004-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4947 (2004) · source
“If an initiative for greater stability in the region has to be taken, it must address this root cause and end foreign occupation. Let us not forget the deep sense of alienation and frustration that resounds in the whole Islamic world because of the unending violation of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people and other Islamic peoples.”
2004-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4945 (2004) · source
“Peace and the rule of law cannot be established by those acting outside the law. It is not necessary to repeat that these actions of Israel have greatly damaged the international endeavours to break the cycle of violence and to put the peace process back on track. The international community supports a two-State solution - a vision of Palestine and Israel living together side by side within secure boundaries. The vision can be achieved only through the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2001) and 1513 (2003), and the Quartet road map, which has been endorsed by the Security Council. Let us not forget that the root cause of all the violence and killing in Palestine and the Middle East is the fact of foreign occupation by Israel.”
2004-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4945 (2004) · source
“The Government of Pakistan condemns this most recent act of extrajudicial execution by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories. Despite international condemnation of the similar extrajudicial execution of Sheikh Yassin a few weeks ago, Israel has refused to heed the wishes of the international community that it stop acting in direct defiance of international law. These extrajudicial executions are clearly a violation of its obligations under such international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention. No interpretation of the principle of self-defence can justify such deliberate and arbitrary executions. A policy of assassination and killing in an occupied territory as a matter of State policy cannot contribute to peace and security either for Israel or for the occupied Palestinian people.”
2004-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4945 (2004) · source
“In the words of the Secretary-General, we are not asking corporations to do something different from their normal business. We are asking them to do it differently.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“The profits of transnational corporations and of financial institutions from international business amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, with total sales of over $2 trillion a year for the largest 50 corporations in the world. Is it possible for these corporations and institutions to consider allocating l per cent of their net profits to development assistance for the poorest countries, perhaps through an international fund managed jointly through the United Nations and the World Bank? This would be a tangible and direct contribution to development and, indirectly, to conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. Some corporations are already doing this. Can this become the norm for all and thus create the jobs and hope to which Mr. Wolfensohn referred?”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“International business could do so by taking some specific actions, such as, first, adopting conscious measures to direct foreign direct investment to a wider spectrum of developing countries, especially the poorest among them, through such means as international investment guarantee schemes; secondly, adopting a more supportive posture towards debt relief for the poorest countries; thirdly, adjusting business strategies to locate the processing of raw materials in the producing countries; and fourthly, supporting greater trade access for developing country exports, especially through the elimination of tariff peaks and tariff escalation, which are discriminatory, and through reform in the system of agricultural subsidies and support that is resorted to by major developed. Finally, let me add another thought.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“It could be developed through the United Nations in the cooperative Monterrey process. It could include the five areas mentioned by the Michigan study. It could cover corporate behaviour in every phase of a conflict. It could ensure transparency in commercial transactions. It could provide possibilities for redress. Lastly, it could include a mechanism for monitoring, which would be most valuable. Mr. Wolfensohn earlier this morning said that the cause of conflict is the lack of hope and that hope can be given by business through the creation of jobs. In our view, the best contribution that international business can make to promoting peace and security is by actively and consciously supporting balanced socio- economic development in the developing countries.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“The majority view is that such voluntary codes, though noble, do not contribute strong incentives for compliance to offset the financial incentives for non- compliance and the lack of rigorous enforcement of such codes. Pakistan shares the view that voluntary codes adopted by business, though valuable, are often not sufficient. We therefore support the view that the activities of business could be governed by a more effective framework that not only creates responsibilities and rights, but that also ensures corporate responsibility and accountability, including respect for the legal rights not only of business, but also of the citizens and communities that are involved. Such a framework could be based on the principles and purposes of the Charter and respect for international humanitarian law.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“A University of Michigan Business School study on the role of business in conflict situations has identified the following five ways in which business can support peace in conflict situations: first, by adopting corporate social responsibility; secondly, by spurring economic development; thirdly, by accepting accountability and supporting the rule of law; fourthly, by building a sense of being part of the community in which it works; and fifthly, by engaging in track-two diplomacy. Much debate has gone into the question of the adequacy of voluntary codes of conduct, such as the Kimberley Process certification scheme or the Secretary-General's Global Compact initiative to ensure corporate humanitarian responsibility.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Several United Nations panels of experts have concluded that the illicit exploitation of natural resources, particularly timber, diamonds and other minerals, by warring factions has sustained conflicts in many African countries. The adoption by the General Assembly of various resolutions on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict and the support for the Kimberley Process certification scheme was significant not only in breaking the link between the illicit transaction of diamonds in armed conflicts, but also in intensifying the debate on the need for business to adopt socially responsible policies in conflict situations.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Those countries' total debt servicing amounted to more than $340 billion last year. Net capital flows to the developing countries amounted to only $74 billion. There are, unfortunately, also certain direct actions which contribute to the outbreak of conflicts. The Secretary-General has mentioned private business, which produces and provides the hardware for arms used in most armed conflicts. These are the real weapons of mass destruction. Worse still are those unscrupulous businesses which resort to the exploitation of natural resources in supporting militias, factions and warlords in order to facilitate their profits and protect their investments.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“That has contributed progressively, over the decades, to the pauperization of many developing countries and the decline in their social and economic conditions, intensifying the causes of domestic social and political tensions that have erupted into conflicts in various parts of the world. A World Bank report has found that States that are highly dependent on natural resources exports are at greater risk of armed conflict than those that are resource poor. That is an irony. The rigid approach adopted with regard to the issue of the mounting debt of the developing countries has resulted in a consistent net export of financial resources from the developing countries to the developed countries. Last year, the net financial transfers to the developing countries were a negative $192 billion.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Last year, 70 per cent of total foreign direct investment flows went to only 10 developing countries. Unfortunately, the profit motive - the bottom line of the balance sheet - which is understandably the prime motivating factor for the strategic and operating decisions of business, including transnational business, is not always compatible with the national economic, social and political objectives of the countries concerned. Much of the decline in the terms of trade and export earnings of commodity-producing developing countries has been due to the constructed control of prices by cartels and sometimes by large transnational corporations.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“The extent of that influence increases in inverse proportion to the size of a given State and in direct proportion to the openness of a State's economic and trade regime and particularly its dependence on raw materials and agriculture for exports and growth. Thus, transnational corporations and business have considerable potential for good as well as for bad, especially in the developing countries. The developing countries that have registered the strongest economic and trade growth in the past few decades are those that benefited from large inflows of foreign direct investment - mainly through transnational corporations and international banking - rather than through official development assistance, which has so far been modest. But foreign direct investment flows have been limited to only a few dynamic developing countries.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Although the maintenance of peace and security is the primary responsibility of States, business, as the Secretary-General has said, has a stake in peace and can play an important supportive role in conflict situations, particularly in post-conflict reconstruction. In today's globalized world, transnational corporations and international business transactions play a major role in influencing economic and political relations among States and non-State actors. World business holds the greater share of the world's capital and technologies - and even jobs. The net worth and sales of major corporations are often larger than the gross domestic product of small and even some medium-sized developing countries. These transnational corporations greatly influence the economic, social and political destinies of States.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Mr. President, perhaps it is too late for me to respond to your appeal for brevity at this time, but I shall try. We thank the German presidency for its initiative of holding this public meeting on the role of business in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building. We welcome the statement by the Secretary-General and the participation of Ms. Rasi, President of the Economic and Social Council, Mr. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and Mr. von Pierer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens, as well as Ambassador Kumalo in his capacity as Chairman of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group for African Countries emerging from conflict. The Secretary-General's opening remarks have set the tone for today's meeting, and the statements by the other participants have provided very useful insights.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“While we support the efforts of the Contact Group and understand the delicacy of the situation, we nevertheless would encourage the Group to consult more widely than they have been with other Council members when preparing such documents. The automatic concurrence of other Council members, who may have their own views on the issues involved, should not be taken for granted.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“Secondly, in implementing the plan, the bar should not be set so high that most countries represented in the Organization, including those in the European Union, would have difficulty in meeting those standards. Finally, the Plan should remain realistic and achievable. In that regard, we are happy to note Mr. Holkeri's observation that "The plan overall is a living document: it will be revised as time goes on. This makes sense, because some policies may not work and we may need new ones". We understand that the Contact Group on Kosovo is preparing a presidential statement on Kosovo. We look forward to working with other Council members to finalize such a statement.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“We are also concerned that the policy on two of the most important standards - relating to returns and to freedom of movement - has not as yet been finalized. These are crucial areas, on which we hope early progress can be achieved. Also crucial is the need to revive the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, which, as Mr. Guehenno said, is currently on hold. Like others, we are still in the process of studying the Implementation Plan. At this point, we wish to offer our initial, though cautious, support for it - but with the following caveats. First, the lack of support by any community or party must not be allowed to be used as an excuse to delay the achievement of standards or to prevent progress towards the finalization of the status issue in the future.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“We agree that the establishment of a multi-ethnic, tolerant, democratic and peaceful society in Kosovo remains a fundamental objective in the implementation of resolution 1244 (1999). We welcome the announcement of the Standards Implementation Plan by Mr. Holkeri in Pristina on 31 March. The Plan identifies policies in each of the eight standards, policies that have to be implemented by certain deadlines, along with assigned responsibilities. The Plan is to be implemented by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo, through the support and assistance of UNMIK and the international community. However, Pakistan is concerned that not every community has participated in the preparation of the Implementation Plan. We hope that, later, this will not be put forward as an obstacle in the implementation of the plan.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“There must be no impunity for those who carried out these acts, whether Albanians or Serbs. Nevertheless, the longer any movement towards status is delayed, the more the delay will continue to feed into the frustrations of one side and the nationalist rhetoric of the other and the more it will perpetuate the cycle of violence. Such violence will keep repeating itself unless and until some solution is found to the thorny issue of status. We will say this again, as we have said before, the key to peace and prosperity lies in clarifying Kosovo's final political status. Pakistan's position on status is independent of our support for standards. We take note of Mr. Holkeri's recent remark that "the standards are not an obstacle to Kosovo's progress". In our view, they are not meant to be.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“We appreciate the effective way in which the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Holkeri, helped to defuse this very difficult situation. In that regard, we support Mr. Holkeri's request for additional police investigators and prosecutors for UNMIK. We hope that UNMIK will continue its investigations into the causes of the violence and, in due course, report to the Council on its findings. We also commend all those in Kosovo who have strongly condemned the violence and have called for calm and reconciliation. Some have described last month's violence as a wakeup call. Pakistan has been one of those few countries that have consistently called for the clarification of the final political status of Kosovo - and perhaps the lone voice in the Council to do so. Let me be clear: violence must not be rewarded.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“We are grateful to you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting today on the situation in Kosovo. I would also like to thank Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno for his briefing on the latest situation in Kosovo. Like other Council members, Pakistan has strongly condemned the violence of 17 and 18 March, which claimed at least 19 lives. We condemn not only the loss of life and the injuries, but also the damage to Kosovo's cultural and religious sites during the onslaught. We are happy that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is working with the local authorities in Kosovo to rebuild some of those sites. We commend the efforts of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in restoring stability in Kosovo.”
2004-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4942 (2004) · source
“We who represent the international community here must now redouble our collective efforts and remain committed to peace, stability, reconstruction and development in Afghanistan in the long term.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“Pakistan has always supported, and continues to support and participate in, President Karzai's endeavour to build State institutions, which are an essential prerequisite for the success of the political and reconstruction processes in Afghanistan. Our participation in Berlin has been a strong testament to that commitment. We strongly urge the international community to continue to provide the necessary assistance to help the Afghan Government meet its goals, especially those outlined in its work plan. Finally, we hope that the spirit of Berlin does not flag or diminish over time. Afghanistan will need years, if not decades, of political and economic support and engagement. Berlin is only the beginning of the post-Bonn process of the international community's commitment to Afghanistan.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“We welcome the pledges made at Berlin for $8.2 billion in reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan over a three-year period. Afghanistan is a landlocked country, but it can also emerge as a transit route linking South Asia and Central Asia. It is therefore essential for Afghanistan's economic recovery and development to integrate this country with its two neighbouring regions. In that regard, we encourage the international community to support the construction of roads, as well as gas and oil pipelines and other trade links connecting Afghanistan with those two regions. Regional economic integration would mutually benefit Afghanistan and all its neighbours.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“Pakistan has welcomed the decision by President Karzai to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in September this year. In its work plan the Afghan Government has welcomed the support of the Governments of Pakistan and Iran to allow the participation of refugees in their countries in the elections. Pakistan has allocated $5 million for that purpose and is extending full cooperation to the Afghan authorities and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in this regard. We hope that the registration of voters will accurately reflect the ethnic and regional balance of Afghanistan's population and its ethnic mosaic. That is essential to the legitimacy and credibility of the entire election process. Peace will not come to Afghanistan without development. This must remain the focus of the international community.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“The conference endorsed the concrete steps that the Afghan Government plans to take as part of its work plan for implementing its national drug control strategy. We also attach importance to the comprehensive Declaration on Counter-Narcotics signed in Berlin by Afghanistan and its six immediate neighbours. As one of the signatories, Pakistan looks forward to working with our partners to strengthen our collective efforts to control the drug menace. The drug problem in Afghanistan is not only an Afghan problem; it affects us all. It is therefore imperative that the Afghans and the international community - in the words of the Berlin declaration - "do everything - including the development of economic alternatives - to reduce and eventually eliminate this threat".”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“The work plan of the Afghan Government, endorsed by the Berlin conference, also provides the concrete steps that the Afghan Government will have to take not only with respect to DDR but also in terms of reforms in the Afghan national army and police and reforms in the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence and the National Directorate for Security that ensure national representation. Along with progress in extending the authority of the Afghan central Government, these are measures which deserve the continued involvement and support of the international community. The Berlin declaration identifies drug production and trafficking as a serious threat to the rule of law and development in Afghanistan as well as to international security.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“We therefore endorse the commitment in the Berlin declaration to the continuation of international military assistance until such time as the new Afghan security forces are sufficiently constituted and operational. We are also pleased with the decision by NATO, as mentioned in the Berlin declaration, to expand the mission of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) by establishing additional provincial reconstruction teams. We endorse providing additional such teams. However, we continue to encourage a larger presence of, and direct role for, ISAF in Afghanistan's security. The Berlin declaration also stresses the need vigorously to implement the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme, with the completion of its first phase by the end of June 2004.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“The Berlin conference reaffirmed the commitment of participants to rebuilding and reforming the political, social and economic structures of Afghanistan, with the aim of creating lasting peace, stability and economic development and with a view to offering all Afghans, in an equitable manner, tangible prospects for a brighter future. The process that was initiated at Bonn will now continue beyond the present transition process in Afghanistan through to a lasting partnership between Afghanistan and the international community. While security is ultimately the responsibility of the Afghans themselves, it cannot be achieved in the immediate future without the active military and political support of the international community.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“Your own statement to the Council, Sir, has outlined the major achievements at Berlin. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan participated actively in the Berlin conference, and we are most satisfied with its outcome. Pakistan has an abiding interest in the early return of peace and stability in Afghanistan. We are linked to Afghanistan by history, geography and faith, and we believe that we share a common destiny. We therefore fully subscribe to the aspirations of the Afghan Government and President Karzai for peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on Germany's assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the current month, a month in which we will consider issues of vital importance to the international community. We would also like to express our high appreciation to Ambassador De La Sabliere and the French delegation for the exemplary manner in which France conducted the presidency of the Council last month. As we consider the results of the Berlin conference, we would first like to thank Under- Secretary-General Guehenno for his very comprehensive, cogent and persuasive briefing to the Council this morning. We would also like to thank the German Government for hosting last week's conference, together with Afghanistan, Japan and the United Nations.”
2004-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4941 (2004) · source
“Those who finance these wars by buying and trading in the illegally exploited resources of Africa are indeed merchants of death. Their crime is no less than that of those who finance terrorism. We need to trace the money trail back to the sources of financing of these callous and bloody wars in Africa. We hope that the future report of the Secretary- General on West Africa will devote attention to these and other important cross-cutting issues in order to complement the recommendations made in the present report with a view to evolving a truly comprehensive strategy for conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict stabilization in that important subregion of Africa.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“First, the impact of sanctions - especially economic sanctions - against developing countries has to be compensated through other means in order to avoid undue suffering caused to innocent people. Secondly, the scope of sanctions, when applied, should address all the causes of the conflict. For example, the linkage between the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the fuelling of conflicts in West Africa is well established. The emphasis so far has been on the supply or production side of the illegally exploited natural resources. In our view, it is equally important to focus on the demand or consumption side of this illicit activity. Naming and shaming and sanctions should be applied to all those who are involved.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“Many of the conflicts are rooted in the struggle for power and the scramble for resources. As we seek to eliminate or contain these conflicts, we have to cut off the sources of financing that enable the warring parties to sustain the conflict through the acquisition of arms, the hiring of mercenaries and the use of child soldiers. My delegation has stated on earlier occasions that durable solutions to the complex crises in Africa can be achieved only through a comprehensive and composite approach. No approach can be comprehensive without an adequate focus on development. Economic progress and development, and not punitive measures, should be the preferred course of action. Even in applying sanctions, the approach must be comprehensive and balanced.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“The Council should also be mindful of capacities at the national level to carry out actions being proposed to the States of the subregion in the context of a regional approach. The possibilities of assistance for such capacity-building must be carefully examined. In our view, it is equally important to identify and address the root causes of conflict. Those causes involve, among other things, the exclusion of regional, ethnic or religious groups from participation in political and economic power-sharing. Human rights violations are a result of this situation. Underdevelopment, poverty, widespread unemployment, hunger and disease, poor governance and lack of accountability, weak State institutions and lack of State authority further compound the problems.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“In the context of checking the cross-border movement of militants, Pakistani troops deployed in Sierra Leone have participated in operations specifically conceived for the purpose, such as Operation Blue Horizon. As we set out to support a regional approach for West Africa, we must be cognizant of two overarching requirements: first, a participatory process and, secondly, the capacity to implement it. In our view, better and effective implementation can be achieved, especially by individual States, if they are fully engaged in the process, including through transparent and open decision-making. The same applies to subregional organizations. It would be logical to harmonize policies at all levels in order to derive optimum benefit from cooperation with subregional organizations.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“They are an important tool in the hands of the Council to help address the underlying problems, including cross-border issues. Their deployment, the renewal of their mandates and drawdown should be carefully planned by the Council, keeping in mind the regional context. Pakistan is participating in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone and in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). We will also be contributing troops for Cote d'Ivoire. The Pakistani contingent in Sierra Leone, comprising a brigade, is deployed in the sensitive diamond-mining areas in the eastern part of the country. Just across the border, two Pakistani battalions are deployed with UNMIL in a difficult area that has been the scene of militant activity in Liberia in the recent past.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“Many of the recommendations - related to enhanced cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system; the strengthening of existing structures and institutions at the national and subregional levels; better implementation of existing conventions and legal instruments; disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and security sector reforms; and the building of confidence and trust between the countries of the region - merit close attention by the United Nations, ECOWAS, the regional Governments and international partners in their respective spheres. A number of those recommendations have been reflected in the draft presidential statement which the Council is likely to adopt today. As has been said here, we need to effectively utilize the peacekeeping operations which have been deployed in the region.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“If there were no armed conflicts, the demand for and use of small arms, mercenaries and child soldiers would also cease to exist. The specific recommendations made by the Secretary-General provide a useful framework for the Council's efforts to redress the situation through a regional approach.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“Our discussion today is an important follow-up to the Security Council mission to West Africa last year. We thank the Secretary-General for his report on ways and means to combat subregional and cross-border problems in West Africa. Our appreciation is also due to the efforts of Mr. Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa. The Secretary-General's report focuses primarily on three issues: small arms, mercenaries and child soldiers. These are important issues indeed. However, as the introductory part of the report notes, these are but a few factors for instability in West Africa. We agree with the Secretary-General's observation that the relationship of these three factors with the cycle of violence and instability is primarily symptomatic, not causal.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“You have honoured the Security Council, Mr. Minister, by your decision to be with us today to preside over this meeting on West Africa. That is but one indication of the contribution which France continues to make in seeking the restoration of peace, stability and economic progress in that important subregion of Africa. My delegation would also like to welcome the participation of and opening statement made by the Secretary-General in this debate. Let me also welcome the Foreign Minister of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, in his capacity as the representative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as Mr. Chambas, Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, and thank them for the thoughtful statements which they have made and which have so enriched our proceedings.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4933 (2004) · source
“It is only when there is a just peace in the holy land that there can be durable peace, stability, progress and prosperity in the wider region of the Middle East.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“In that context, we must secure assurances from the Government of Israel and from the members of the Quartet that the contemplated unilateral withdrawal from Gaza will constitute a part of the process of full and complete withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, in accordance with the prescriptions of the road map and in faithful implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003). We must also ensure that the illegal separation wall being built by Israel on the West Bank does not lead to annexation of Palestinian territory and does not prejudge the final settlement. It is only thus that we can protect the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Violence can end - will end - when Israel withdraws from the occupied territories. Meanwhile, the Security Council must act to rein in all those who believe in unilateral and violent solutions and who in the process shatter the dreams of a life of peace, normalcy and freedom from fear for their own peoples. We must do everything within our means to salvage the peace process. We must reassure the Palestinian people that the international community, and especially the Security Council, will make every effort to secure the full and equitable implementation of the Quartet's road map.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“The prospect of more bloodshed and heightened violence is not the only likely consequence of this illegal action. The fragile peace process in the Middle East has been dealt a severe blow. The Secretary-General has rightly noted that Sheikh Yassin's assassination "has complicated issues" and that it does not "facilitate the task of peace makers". Inaction is not an option for the Council. The Council must pronounce itself on this issue. We must condemn this act and must call on Israel to disavow its policy of arbitrary assassinations. The killing of innocent civilians, whether in the occupied territories or in Israel, is a tragedy for the people involved, for the families involved and for the entire region. But let us all remember that the root cause of this violence is the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source